The 16th annual North Carolina Blueberry Festival will kick off on Burgaw’s courthouse square with local blueberries, BBQ, live music, and — for the first time — craft beer. More than 40,000 are expected.
BURGAW — This weekend’s North Carolina Blueberry Festival will spotlight an industry that has seemed to bounce back from widespread flooding of the region’s blueberry farms during Hurricane Florence.
Pender County is the heart of the state’s blueberry-producing region along the coast, according to the festival’s director, Sarah Daniels. She said the quality of the county’s soil — its sandy nature allows for more drainage and blueberries prefer its high acidity level — has made it one of the country’s premier blueberry regions.
“It’s just ideal conditions all around – until you throw a hurricane in the mix,” Daniels said.
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Several farmers in the county’s low-lying areas had grown blueberry bushes that were five to six feet tall, according to Daniels; after Florence, they were completely underwater. The rest of the farms, she said, received enough rain to be concerned about the harvest’s yield this summer.
“But fortunately those who didn’t get completely flooded out seem to be bouncing back well,” Daniels said.
The 16th annual festival is held every third Saturday of June at the peak of the region’s blueberry season. After last year’s festival drew an estimated 30,000 people during stormy weather, Daniels expects 40,000 due to the weekend’s favorable weather forecast.
Pender County spokesperson Tammy Proctor said the festival — the county’s largest — was important in celebrating its leading industry while boosting the local economy.
“The festival has a tremendous impact on the economy,” Proctor said. “People will come in and shop the vendors, but they’ll also discover new stores that they’ve never visited in Burgaw, or they’ll dine at one of the local restaurants, and even put gas in their cars before they leave.”
And for the first time, the festival will serve local craft beer at the Burgaw Train Depot. Those supplying include the county’s lone brewery, Salty Turtle Brewing Company, and Wilmington’s Edward Teach Brewery, Front Street Brewery, Bill’s Brewing Company, and Wrightsville Beach Brewery. Panacea Brewing Company will also serve kombucha, including an alcoholic version of the tea called Elevated Kombucha Blueberry Lemonade.
“It’s an opportunity for us to support the region’s growing craft brewery industry,” Daniels said. “A lot of craft brewers in our area use local ingredients whenever possible. So they’re using local produce like blueberries from local farms, and it’s a real synergy for us to promote local agriculture and local beer production.”
The festival kicks off with the Whole Hog BBQ Cook-Off at 6 a.m. on Friday morning (local and statewide contestants are allowed to begin cooking the night before). Awards will be given at 7 p.m. at the Train Depot stage.
After an early Saturday morning 5k run and the Tour de Blueberry bike race, the main festival opens with more than 200 arts and craft vendors, street fair food vendors, and craft beer. Daniels also pointed out the BMX stunt bike shows, a car show, and live music lasting throughout the day (view the complete schedule here).
Due to limited parking downtown, shuttles will be available on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the Pender Landing Shopping Center (602 U.S. 117) and at the Pender County Extension Offices (901 S. Walker St.).
Mark Darrough can be reached at [email protected]
